23: Tales from the Counseling Office
by cali-chan
Summary: Classes are just starting in Samuikamen Boarding School, and Himura Kenshin has been appointed as the new Student Counselor. Will the school ever survive? Not your typical "RK charas in high school" fic.
1. Chapter 1

Tales from the Counseling Office  
  
**author:** carla, aka cali-chan  
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... but well, Sano DOES appear in this fic, so what were you expecting? Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.  
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor ^^;;;  
**pairings:** uh, "canon", mostly. I'll warn you if there's any alt couples.  
**summary:** Classes are just starting in Samuikamen Boarding School, and Himura Kenshin has been appointed as the new Student Counselor. Will the school ever survive? Not your typical "RK charas in high school" fic.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kamiya Kaoru struggled to hold her shinai while hauling her two suitcases behind her. Carefully, she crossed streets and sidewalks while grumbling to herself. She seemed rather angry.  
  
"Mou! Of all the days to sleep in!" she told herself, while she waited for the light to turn red, so she could pass. "Why does this always happen to me? I bet Genzai-sensei thinks it's real funny, going off to school leaving me behind, with only a small note on my dresser as an excuse! Argh." She didn't seem to notice that a few people were looking amusedly at her. "Now I'm so late! Ooohhh, I bet Okina-san has already closed the gates. I'm going to have to beg my way in... AGAIN!"  
  
Yes, she was mad. She'd attended Samuikamen Boarding School her whole life. She was a good student, not overly intelligent, but she was good. She was captain of the Kendo Club. She had many friends. She was pretty, popular, nice, happy, polite. She was a great girl. Yet she ALWAYS managed to be late for the Start of Course day.  
  
Now she was just a few blocks away from the school. She was aware that she was just strolling through one of the most dangerous areas of the city with all of her very-heavy belongings. That would surely make a lot of gang members think she was an easy pray, but she wasn't afraid. She was a trained martial artist. Surely she could deal with any possible-attackers quite easily.  
  
She didn't count the fact that she was lost in these thoughts while stepping in the dark alley.  
  
"Excuse me--"  
  
When she felt the hand in her shoulder, she jumped back a few inches, and then her instincts took over. Sure she was being harrassed by some street punk, she let go of her bags and held her shinai with both hands, turning around with a loud "ATO!", and then hitting the person behind her repeatedly on the head.  
  
"Ororoooo~"  
  
When her attacker finally ended up spawled on the floor, she took a couple of deep breaths and then looked down, to check if whoever it was, was unconscious. If the person wasn't, she was ready to give him or her a mean kick and that was sure to do the trick.  
  
"Sessha didn't do anything wrong, de gozaru..."  
  
The problem was, the man didn't look like a regular ruffian. He was a little on the pale side, with long red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was wearing grey pants (which were all dirty now), a blue/turquoise-ish shirt, and normal black shoes. He had a very unusual cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. Oh, and his eyes were all swirly and he had a giant bump on his head where Kaoru's shinai had hit him.  
  
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Kaoru exclaimed, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment. She helped him get up. "I thought you were going to attack me! Oh, I'm such a dolt..."  
  
"It wasn't your fault, miss. Sessha shouldn't have surprised you like that. Your reaction is perfectly understandable."  
  
"Still, I shouldn't be so violent," Kaoru chastised herself. Hadn't Genzai-sensei told her that a million times already? Taking a good look at the man standing in front of her. He was only a bit taller than her, and now that they were face to face, she was mesmerized by his eyes. They were such an odd color... violet, such a magnificent shade of purple that only nature could get it just right. "I'm Kamiya Kaoru. Is there something I can help you with?"  
  
"Sessha is a bit lost. Do you know where Samuikamen Boarding School is?" he asked her with a gentle smile, carefully inspecting his head to see if the bump was as bad as it felt.  
  
She kept looking at him curiously. His way of speaking was weird. And he looked young, but not enough to be in High School. Was he a new professor or something like that? "Sure, I was just heading over there. If you want, you can come with me."  
  
The red-haired man blinked, not sure how to answer. Kaoru saw this, and frowned. "Mou! I'm not going to hit you anymore! I just want to help, really, to make up for hurting you."  
  
He smiled then, although a bit slowly. "Hai, Kamiya-san. Then Sessha will acompany you, de gozaru."  
  
"That's great," she replied, smiling too. "By the way, you can call me Kaoru."  
  
"Uh, very well, Kaoru-dono." Kaoru giggled at the phrase. It sounded a bit funny, she had never had anyone call her like that before. Reaching out for her bags, she saw the man doing the same (she hadn't noticed before that he was carrying a small shoulder bag that fell to the floor when she hit him), and then she turned in the direction of the School, ready to go.  
  
"Aw, would you look at that. What a cute scene," they heard a sarcastic voice mutter, from the very back of the dark alley. Both Kaoru and the man let go of their belongings, quickly going into defensive mode.  
  
Kaoru was just about to step forward, shinai ahead of her, to kick some street-punk ass, but her red-haired companion put an arm in front of her, to stop her. "Please stand back, Kaoru-dono. He could be dangerous."  
  
*Dangerous, my feet,* thought Kaoru, frowning. She knew who the voice belonged to. She had heard it far too many times for her taste. It was none other than Hiruma Gohei, the leader of one of the local gangs, who, of course, got a kick out of annoying innocent passerbys, especially if they were students of the Boarding School. Kaoru had had quite a few unfortunate encounters with him throughout her years at the School, and she had gathered that Hiruma had been expelled from the School many years back and he seemed to blame Samuikamen for all his misery. Kaoru thought to herself that he had to be crazy to hold a grudge for so long. Also, he was all talk and no action. The faculty had managed to put him behind bars a few times, but he always managed to get out somehow. It seemed like he'd forever be a pain in the School's proverbial neck.  
  
Hiruma decided to let himself be seen then, smirking down at them. "Heh. No way a puny little thing like you can defend yourself, much less her," he told the red-headed man, with a sneer. "Let's see what you've got."  
  
Kaoru, conscious that her companion was unarmed while she held a shinai in her hands, stepped forward and got into a defensive position instantly when Hiruma attacked them with a knife. She planned her actions as if watching them frame-by-frame: hit him on his torso first, to stop him, and then give his arm a quick jolt so he'd drop the knife, only to hit him on the neck right after, to knock him out. Hiruma was a scant five feet away from her when she readied her shinai for action, but, surprisingly, she couldn't bring it down on him because she was grabbed by the waist and carried off to the side in that same moment. So, while Gohei stumbled on his steps, stabbing only air, she was a few paces behind, held up in the red-haired stranger's arms.  
  
"Wha-?" she blinked, trying to figure out how something like that could happen so fast.  
  
He was smiling at her. "You shouldn't place yourself in danger, Kaoru-dono." With that, he put her down. "Don't worry, I'll deal with him."  
  
It took her a few seconds to notice that her shinai wasn't in her hands anymore. The man had it, and he was standing behind Hiruma, who was still on the floor, a bit disoriented. She noticed that the stranger wasn't attacking him; quite the contrary, he was serious and focused, like waiting for Gohei to attack him first, so he could defend himself. She could've sworn his eyes had taken a hauting amber hue. She also saw that his stance and the way he held the shinai were different from the kenjutsu style she practiced. He was holding it as if it were a sword still inside its sheath. Whatever style of the arts that was, it was obvious the guy knew exactly what he was doing.  
  
Finally, Hiruma seemed to come out of his stupor. As predicted, he stood up, turned around, and with a growl lunged at the man, who jumped a few steps back and then seamlessly performed every single move Kaoru had planned on doing. She stood, entranced, watching as Gohei fell down, unconscious, while the red-haired man stood over him, being sure to kick the knife away. Kaoru was awed. The moves he had performed were pretty much basic for any sword-handling art, but when he did them they seemed so fluid... almost as if he were doing them by instinct. She just couldn't describe it.  
  
He looked around for a few minutes, trying to see if any of Hiruma's lackeys were going to appear to avenge their fallen leader. When he was sure that wasn't going to happen, he turned around, handing her the shinai, while smiling radiantly, violet eyes back to normal. Kaoru couldn't help but gawk. There was no trace of the powerful swordsman that had been there a minute ago.  
  
"We should call the police, de gozaru," he stated, whipping his cell phone out of his pants and dialing the familiar number. Kaoru, unable to decipher just what exactly had happened, just went to get her bags while he finished. After that, they continued walking what little distance separated them from the school, in what Kaoru felt was a very uncomfortable silence.  
  
"So... you do kenjutsu?" she asked, trying to break the ice.  
  
He smiled vaguely, as if recalling a memory she didn't know about. "Aa. Something like that," he admitted, re-accomodating the bag on his shoulder while making sure he didn't let Kaoru's bag (which he had offered to carry) fall.  
  
Kaoru immediately went into Kendo mode. "Really? I do too! I've practiced and seen a few different styles, but I hadn't seen yours before. Is it a new school? What's it called? It was really good!"  
  
He opened his mouth, either to answer her or just to wave her off, but then he saw the very high metal gates that were standing a few metres in front of them. "Ara. Is this it?" he asked her.  
  
Kaoru nodded, and then groaned. "Aw, great. It's closed. Ugh."  
  
They walked towards the gates. Kaoru was going to ring the doorbell, but then thought better of it. She didn't want any "high" faculty member hear it, see her and then accuse her of being late (which she was, but it wasn't her fault!). So she settled for good old yelling. "Okina-san! Okina-saaaaannnnn! Could you open the door for us, please?"  
  
She heard the red-haired man chuckle behind her. Yes, so she was weird, trying to sneak INTO school, but that was just the way she was. She continued yelling, until she was interrupted by someone speaking.  
  
"There you are! Baka-deshi, you're always late!"  
  
She gulped. She knew THAT voice too. And effectively, coming towards them from the other side of the gates as a very tall, very muscular man, with long dark hair drawn back in a low ponytail, dressed smartly in black pants, a green shirt and a long, red-trimmed, white trenchcoat. Kaoru closed her eyes. Surely it was not her lucky day. That was exactly the one man she didn't want to be caught by; it was Hiko Seijuro, the Principal of Samuikamen. Oh boy, was she in trouble.  
  
She was just about to open her mouth to blabber incoherent excuses, when the man that was standing behind her replied for her. "It is good to see you again, Shishou."  
  
She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Seijuro-san wasn't speaking to her? The question was answered when the Principal opened the gates and, simply ignoring her (not that she was complaining), quickly grabbed the man by his shirt, hauling him inside while grumbling about how he hadn't changed a thing and how he was still a baka, to which the man replied with a series of weak "oros". The stranger barely had time to let go of Kaoru's bag.  
  
She was left standing there, open-mouthed, until Okina-san appeared and greeted her, then showed her in.  
  
---  
  
"So? Spill!"  
  
Sitting in her favourite chair in her bedroom, face illuminated by the Official Interrogating Lamp (tm), Kaoru definitely felt like a big bug placed under a microscope. Upon entering her room, her best friend and roommate, Makimachi Misao, had forcefully taken her bags away from her, while at the same time making her sit and asking her a miriad of questions before she could even react.  
  
"Spill... what, exactly?"  
  
"Come off it, Kaoru-chan. Who's the man?"  
  
"Man? What man?" Kaoru asked, having no clue what her hyperactive little friend was talking about.  
  
"Mou! KA-O-RU! You're acting weird and I just KNOW it's because you have a crush on someone. Now, tell me who it is!" she exclaimed, absolutely sure she was right, the hand that wasn't holding the lamp on her hip.  
  
"Why would you think I'm acting weird? I just got here, and I haven't even SAID anything to you yet," Kaoru said, trying to avoid the subject. Misao couldn't know about the red-haired man, could she? Trying to avoid her angry questioning glare, she took the lamp from her hand, and stood up from the bed, finally leaving the lamp over her bedside table, where it should be.  
  
Misao had always had a flare for the dramatic. So just when Kaoru turned around, she put her hand on her chest, where her heart would be. "You know, this really hurts. I've told you ALL about my crushes and I'd hoped you'd tell me about yours when the time came. Now I see it's just too much to ask. I thought you were my friend!"  
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes. Time for the guilty trip, huh? Well, it WAS true that Misao had told her about all her crushes (more like forced her to listen, really), but the tactic didn't have effect on Kaoru because Misao had only had one crush. She'd been in love with the same man since she was three. Still, it wouldn't be so bad to tell her what had happened that morning. It was out of the ordinary, to be sincere. And it's not like she had a crush on the red-haired swordsman, she just thought he was cute and well... mysterious... "Ok, ok, I'll tell you," she agreed, walking to her bed again and laying down on it, hands behind her head.  
  
"YATTA!" Misao exclaimed, jumping a bit, and then proceeding to sit on her own bed. "I knew it!"  
  
"How DID you know, anyways?" Kaoru asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
Misao crossed her arms and smirked. "Kaoru-chan, we've been best friends for four years. I know you like the palm of my hand. Of course I'd notice something like this right away!" Then, she leaned back on the bed, supporting her weight on her arms. "Besides, Jiya told me he saw you at the gates with a weird-looking red-haired man."  
  
Kaoru sweatdropped. "I should've known," she muttered. Okina-san ("Jiya," though only Misao called him that), was the school's janitor and Misao's adoptive grandfather. They were certainly two of a kind. Actually, Misao's whole family were a weird bunch. None of them were really blood-related, but they all got together somehow when Misao was a baby and have been as tight as lycra until present day. So tight, for example, that when it was Misao's turn to start high school, that is, enroll in the Boarding School, they all decided to come with her! Nobody really knew how Okina-san managed to convince Hiko-san to give him, and Okon, Shiro, Kuro and Omasu, jobs in Samuikamen, but the fact was that they were there, at least until Misao graduated.  
  
"So, tell me about this dashing companion of yours," she prodded, and Kaoru relented with a sigh. Without missing a single detail, she told her what happened that morning.  
  
"So he does Kendo?" By the time Kaoru was finished, Misao was all eyes. "Kaoru-chan! That's perfect!"  
  
"Hai, you're right. He's very good with the sword. I was thinking of asking Hiko-san if he could be the Kendo Club supervisor, that is, if he's staying..."  
  
"No, NO! Not that!" Misao exclaimed, springing from her lying position to sit indian-style on the bed, hugging her pillow to her chest so tightly that, had it been a person, he or she wouldn't be able to breathe anymore. "I mean, you both have the same interests... you're obviously MADE for each other!"  
  
Kaoru blushed. "Oh, come on, Misao-chan! I don't even know his name! I didn't even get to thank him for saving me... not that I NEEDED any saving, thank you very much, but anyways, it's the intention that counts, so..."  
  
"Does he have a nice butt?" Misao cut her off.  
  
Kaoru almost fell of the bed, as red as Superman's cape, now. "MISAO! Why would I be looking at his-- AGH, how can you ask that?!"  
  
Misao frowned, then glared at her. "Kaoru-chan, you're such a prude. There's nothing wrong with looking. It's natural!"  
  
"Agh. Can we change the subject, please? I've already told you what you wanted to know," she pleaded, standing up to take her bags to the bed, so she could unpack. When she was done, she turned around to suggest the Kendo Club idea to her friend again, but didn't dare utter a syllable after seeing the conspirational gleam that Misao had in her eyes. "Oh, no. No, I'm not going along with your mischievous plans this time..."  
  
---  
  
"Aw, god, this is like last year all over agaaaaaaiiiinnnnn..." Kaoru whined while they made their way towards the principal's office. "Honjou-san will not be able to save us again if we're caught, Misao-chan."  
  
Misao glared at her. She knew students weren't supposed to go near the principal's office without being called, much less were they supposed to be snooping around for information like little James Bond wannabes. Still, Misao did not like being "in the dark" about anything, even if it had to do with the faculty. She had a big obsession with uncovering mysteries. Kaoru often joked that the little weasel-girl must've been a spy in one of her past lives, or something like that. But because of her insatiable thirst for knowing the truth about anything, they'd gotten in trouble quite a few times. The prior year they had gotten caught while digging in Hiko-san's desk drawers, looking for the reason the Boarding School had cut off fundings for the Kendo Club. Fortunately, Honjou Kamatari, the principal's secretary, interceded for them ("I sent them to look for something in there," was the excuse) and saved them from spending two months' worth of weekends inside school grounds, bored to death.  
  
"We're not going to trespass on private property again, Kaoru-chan. This time we're just going to ask some questions," she declared, with a nod of her head. "After all, we only want this guy's name and the reason he's here. It's not like we have to check the school's financial status or anything."  
  
"We'll find out in the Start of Course ceremony, anyways," Kaoru assured her, trying to get her to change her mind about this new investigation of hers.  
  
Unluckily for her, Makimachi Misao was as stubborn as a mule. "Not if he didn't come here to work! What if he's just visiting Hiko-san? You told me the man called him 'shishou', after all. And I'm not letting him walk away from you just like that, not when you're obviously destined to be together!"  
  
Kaoru sighed. There was no way she could deter Misao's romantic-slash-passionate ideals. She just hoped Hiko-san wouldn't confine them to their rooms as punishment when he caught them.  
  
Misao bounced up to the desk that was now in front of them. "Konnichiwa, Kamatari-san!"  
  
The secretary looked up, finally looking up to the two girls with a sweet smile. "Oh! Misao-chan! Kaoru-chan! Konnichiwa! How are you girls?"  
  
"Ah, just genki," said Misao with a shrug. She was going to ask a question right away, but Kamatari spoke before she could.  
  
"What are you two girls doing here? Don't tell me you're investigating something again... I don't think my beauty and striking personality will be able to charm Hiko-san again."  
  
Kaoru and Misao sweatdropped. As pretty and cheerful as Kamatari-san was, they were sure Hiko-san would stay as far away from Kamatari-san as possible, because he (and the whole school, as well) knew the awful truth... Kamatari-san was actually... A MAN (*gasp!*). Not that there was anything wrong with him being a crossdresser, of course, because it was his life and no one had a right to criticize it, but still, it was a bit weird to see him glomp fully-grown men like they were teddy bears. It had been sort of funny when everyone found out, because, even though he wasn't really hiding it, no one had a clue at first. It was especially embarassing for Hiko-san, who had tried to hit on him (thinking he was a her) during the Start of Course ceremony that year. Since then, Kamatari-san always was oh-so-happy to remind him of the incident as often as he could, which of course explained how Kamatari-san (and Kaoru and Misao by extension) could get away with pretty much anything.  
  
"Um, actually, it's nothing as risky as the last investigation..." Misao started, trying to get away from the topic of Kamatari and her gender preferences. "We just want to know if there are any new members in the faculty this year."  
  
"In the faculty?" Kamatari-san asked. He blinked a few times and then squealed girlishly, taking some papers out of his desk drawer. "Oh, yes! We have two new professors, and we're still expecting two more. Apparently, the Ministry of Education hasn't handed their official credentials in yet, but they will start classes later this month." He hurriedly showed them the papers, which were actually files for each of the new professors, and of course they contained photos. One of them was a brown-haired woman, pale and very pretty, and the other one was a black-haired man, tanned and with a smirk on his face. "See this? He's your new History professor," he said, pointing to the picture of the man. "He's soooooo dreamy, don't you think?"  
  
Kaoru and Misao sweatdropped yet again. "Ano... but the one we're looking for isn't there," Kaoru stated, feeling rather silly.  
  
"Oh?" Kamatari-san asked, arching an eyebrow. "You're specifically looking for someone?"  
  
"Yes," replied both girls, nodding their heads.  
  
"He's not very tall, has red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek," Kaoru explained, waiting expectantly to see if it triggered something in Honjou-san's memory.  
  
"Hmmmm..." the pretty man murmured, tapping his chin lightly with his finger, while staring off into space. "Red hair... Oh!" he exclaimed, and the girls leaned forward as if he were telling a story and they were waiting for the surprise ending. "Yes, yes, I know who he is! He came by this morning. His name is Himura Kenshin... he's going to be the new Student Counselor."  
  
Misao jumped and exclaimed "YATTA!" while Kaoru frowned a bit and Kamatari looked at them, a bit curious.  
  
"Umm... do you know where he is now, Honjou-san?" Kaoru asked, her cheeks a little red.  
  
"Well, he went off with Hiko-san. He must be in the Counseling Office by now," Kamatari supplied helpfully.  
  
"Oh, well, I'll just... go now... I guess I have... I have to thank him," she babbled, turning around and breaking into a run, barely having time to yell back to Misao that she'd meet her at the Start of Course ceremony.  
  
The little weasel girl smiled at her best friend's fading silhouette. Although maybe "smiling" was too light of a term to use in her case. It was more that she was grinning like the Chesire Cat.  
  
"So?" Kamatari-san inquired, leaning over his desk. "Are you going to tell me what all this was about, or not?"  
  
Misao turned around, grin still in place. "Oh, you bet I am!"  
  
---  
  
Kaoru walked towards the Counseling Office, which was on the complete opposite side of the school, all the way berating herself for babbling aloud about thanking the red-haired man. Kenshin, was it? Well, the fact was that by now, Misao would have Honjou-san completely convinced that she was having some sort of passionate affair with the Counselor. How embarassing.  
  
When she finally got there, she saw the door was closed. What was she supposed to do? Wait outside? Knock? Just burst in with a quick "heya, remember me? I'm the girl whose rear you saved this morning"? She decided it was best to just knock and wait. But when she walked towards the door, she heard voices.  
  
"...diot! What do you mean you can't take it? You can't do that! Do realize that I wouldn't have called in a dork like you if I wasn't desperate.You can't just leave!"  
  
"Sessha is sorry, shishou, but sessha just doesn't think he is the best for this job, de gozaru. Surely you can find a suitable replacement for sessha."  
  
She couldn't help but eavesdrop a little. Hiko-san and Himura-san were arguing and... Himura-san was leaving? That was weird... it was only the Start of Course day! Classes hadn't even begun yet, and he was quitting already?  
  
She heard Hiko-san sigh. "This is unbelievable. Just my luck, the only person who's stupid enough to take this job has to be my baka-deshi, and he's too much of a moron to let go of his past. Geez..."  
  
Now Himura-san sighed, but didn't say anything else. Hiko-san let out a grunt. "Fine! Do whatever you want. It's not like I care. This school could do so much better than a baka like you..."  
  
Kaoru heard footsteps coming closer. Hiko-san was coming out of the office! She freaked out... she couldn't let him find her! Gah! In the end, Hiko-san opened the door before she could decide what to do, and she had to comically jump behind the door so he wouldn't notice her presence, like those wanna-be thieves did on cartoons. Definitely a reflex action, but hey, it worked like a jewel.  
  
Carefully watching Hiko-san's retreating back, she tiptoed into the Counseling Office. Of course, since she was standing with her back to the room, she didn't notice that the Counselor himself was looking at her, with the world's biggest clueless expression, while she walked around the corner like the Pink Panther.  
  
"...Kaoru-dono?"  
  
"Gah!" She turned around, eyes wide open. She bit her lip, guiltily. "Oh. Sorry if I'm interrupting, Himura-san."  
  
He smiled. "Don't worry, that's okay. Do you need anything? Please come in, and close the door behind you, de gozaru. We wouldn't want anyone to eavesdrop, right?" His violet eyes shined warmly when he looked at her, with an amused expression. He was sitting behind his desk, pen in hand, but not writing anything.  
  
She blushed, embarrased. She was caught yet again, and she couldn't even blame Misao this time. Closing the door as she was asked to, she started explaining, clumsily: "I'm sorry about that. I was just coming to see you, and Hiko-san was yelling, so I couldn't help but..." She pulled back the chair that was in front of the desk, sitting on it with a light plop-sound. "Is it true? You're leaving? Why?"  
  
As if she had shot him instead of just asked him a question, he looked down, a deep frown covering his features. "Sessha is just not the best person for this job. Sessha is sure sessha would mess things up somehow."  
  
She arched an eyebrow skeptically. "Well, your self-confidence sure does change when you don't have a sword in your hands! Why do you say that? I think you're just the kind of Counselor this school needs. All the others were stuffy and looked down at us, sighing with an overly-dramatic 'oh, these poor young ones' attitude. Believe me, I speak from experience," she added, laughing. Himura-san laughed too, albeit a bit more weakly. "But you," she continued, "you seem like a normal guy."  
  
"Sessha doesn't think you'd find 'normal' anywhere on sessha's record," he replied, still sporting the weak smile.  
  
Kaoru crossed her arms. "So, what WOULD I find in your record?" she asked, like challenging him.  
  
"Sessha hasn't had much experience," he admitted, shifting his position a bit, and dropping his pen on a penholder that was over the desk. He obviously did not like speaking about that issue. "And the little sessha has, wasn't good at all."  
  
"What happened? I'm sure it can't be that bad..."  
  
"It was," he murmured, looking everywhere but at her. "Deaths were involved."  
  
"Oh," she said. Rather stupidly, she thought to herself. So that's why he keeps referring to himself as 'unworthy'. "Well... you didn't mean for anyone to die, right?"  
  
He shook his head, his eyes firmly glued to his desk, his expression dark. "Of course not."  
  
She smiled again, trying to lighten the environment of the room. "Then it's okay! You shouldn't worry about that anymore, you know? It doesn't matter what you did. The past is past. What matters is who you are now and what you can do in the future."  
  
His head snapped up when he heard those words. Suddenly he was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, violet eyes glazed, mouth half open. Kaoru felt herself blush again. "It's just... Sessha is not sure he could help anybody, de gozaru," he stated, or more accurately, he whispered, so lightly that she could barely hear it. He looked... scared, Kaoru decided. Confused. It seemed that he needed her advice, and not the other way around.  
  
"Hey," she began, grinning warmly. "You helped me this morning, remember?" She shrugged. "I rather think that's a good start."  
  
He blinked and let out a shaky breath. The corners of his mouth were beginning to curl up again. "Arigato."  
  
"You're welcome!" she exclaimed happily, standing up. "I have to go back to my room now. The Start of Course ceremony will start soon and I've got to change." She went out of the room, still smiling. Himura-san stayed inside his Office, pondering about her words.  
  
Not two seconds later, the door opened again and her head popped back in. "Oh! By the way, thanks for the save this morning! Hehe, that was my reason for coming here since the beginning, actually..."  
  
Himura-san nodded in acknowledgment. Kaoru waved her hand a little and dissapeared behind the door, this time for real.  
  
Kenshin couldn't help but smile. That was one special girl, no doubt.  
  
---  
  
Within an hour, the students were called to the front garden, where the Start of Course Ceremony would take place. Kaoru and Misao, now clad in the dark blue, light blue and white plaid skirts, white t-shirts, light blue overshirts, white socks and black shoes ensemble that made up their uniforms, stepped by the school cafeteria to say hello to Tae, Okon and Omasu, before heading outside.  
  
They decided to stand by the fountain, which was the coolest place of the area, even if the fountain wasn't working. Besides, Misao had brought with her an umbrella that matched their uniforms, and while they looked ridiculous standing under it in the middle of a school gathering, at least they weren't burning to death like the rest of the students.  
  
Five minutes later, when Misao was nearly done interrogating Kaoru for the second time that day, Hiko-san went up on the improvised stage the school always set up in front of the main doors whenever there was a special event. As he neared the microphone, a low murmur rose from the audience. He smirked, thinking the students were awed by his imposing figure and charisma. But it was quite the opposite situation, in fact. The students were merely wondering how the hell he could stand under the excessively hot midday sun wearing that thick (and ugly) trenchcoat.  
  
The Principal smiled his trademark 100-watts smile before beginning his speech.  
  
"Well, well, well... if it isn't the same hormonally imbalanced crowd that barely managed to get out of here last year... I do hope that you're ready to put all your energy into re-learning all the stuff you've already forgotten since last term... although that might be a bit too much to ask of you people, I guess..."  
  
Misao snorted loudly at Hiko-san's speech. Kaoru, on the other hand, was focused on other things. Like the people that were currently walking up the stairs to stand behind him.  
  
She recognized the first two from the pictures Honjou-san showed them. The third one was even more familiar.  
  
It was a man with red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek.  
  
Himura-san had decided to stay after all.  
  
She was glad.  
  
He stood behind Hiko-san, a little to the left, keeping a discreet distance from the other two figures, a man and a woman (who, by the way, seemed to be standing a little too close to simply be colleagues that have just met). His hands were on his pant pockets, and his purple eyes were quietly moving among the crowd, as if he were looking for someone.  
  
They finally met hers. She smiled at him.  
  
He smiled back.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
---  
  
  
  
  
  
  
widdle author's notes by cali ^^  
  
well, this is it for the first chapter, i guess. i've had this bunny jumping around my brain since a LONG time ago, but lack of time and inspiration had me stuck, i guess ^^;;;; but now, after many nights of staying up until ungodly hours in the night in order to get a few paragraphs, it's done. hah! the lack of sleep paid off...  
  
i'd always wanted to write a kenshin-in-HS fic! *squee* this is so exciting... *hugglez sano 'til he can't breathe* more characters coming up later! i hope i can keep them IC. but gosh, writing them without including swords and stuff is HARD. geez.  
  
i think you guys understand most of the japanese words i've used here, so i won't put a glossary in here. if i'm mistaken with this assumption, though, tell me and i'll put one up next chapter. and OH! let's spice this up a little-- any of you who can tell me just WHO the two new professors were (the ones in the photos kamatari showed kaoru and misao), will get a mini-cameo in next chapter. weeee...! ^-^  
  
for anybody who has read my other RK fic ("sometimes") and is wondering just why the hell i haven't updated in YEARS-- do not worry! i'm working on it. it WILL be finished! hahaaaaa!  
  
for updates and snippets on this fic, please check my ficlog-- kyoudai.net/blog, and to read my other stuff, be sure to step by my writing archive-- kyoudai.net/ame. bai bai! -cali-chan.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Tales from the Counseling Office**

**author:** carla, aka cali-chan   
**rating:** PG-13, because of some swearing... but well, Sano DOES appear in this fic, so what were you expecting? Rating might go up to R, though, depending on my mood when writing later chapters.   
**genre:** AU, romance, a bit drama, really cheap humor XD   
**pairings:** uh, "canon", mostly. I'll warn you if there's any alt couples.   
**summary:** Classes are just starting in Samuikamen Boarding School, and Himura Kenshin has been appointed as the new Student Counselor. Will the school ever survive? Not your typical "RK charas in high school" fic.

* * *

Chapter 2

The next morning, Kaoru woke up early to secure a confortable seat in the front of the classroom for her first biology class of the year. After all, the biology professor was new for this term; she wanted to make a good impression. Not that she was a teacher's pet, but she always wanted to be in good terms with her professors, just in case problems ever arose. She'd done a good job on that in the past few years.

As soon as the professor entered the classroom, Kaoru knew there'd be an exception this year.

The click-clocking of her high-heeled knee-length black leather boots against the floor brought silence into the room more quickly than death would've. She carried herself in an undoubtedly confident way. She was tall, graceful, imponent; such a combination that everybody turned to look her way as if in a trance. Her body was encased in a deep red halter top that fit her so well, people would more readily believe the sun being green than it not being tailor-made. Her black leather skirt was so short, that had it been half an inch shorter, it would've been considered underwear; yet on her, it looked just right enough to be decent. Her brown hair, obviously long and satiny, was pulled up into a loose bun, with a few strands framing her face to one side. She had heavy make-up on, but still her face looked as perfect as if she were like that naturally. Her curious brown eyes surveyed the room carefully, while her lips, tinted green by her lipstick, drew themselves into an amused smile.

She left two biology books and her purse over her desk, and, arms crossed, proceeded to explain the curriculum, grading criteria and other general stuff teachers always discussed on the first day of classes.

"I was thinking," she began, half-sitting on the edge of the desk in a way that her top rode up exposing her midriff, "that it would be better if we started with human anatomy, since you usually know more about your own bodies than about the structure of plants or animals."

"Komagata-sensei," a boy on the very back of the classroom started, raising his hand. Kaoru and the rest of the class turned to look at him, and she, having known most of her classmates all her life, understood the impish glint he had in his eyes and knew he was going to say something idiotic.

"Yes, tell me," professor Komagata replied, politely.

"I was wondering... are we ever going to study YOUR anatomy?"

Half the class laughed, and the other half rolled their eyes. Kaoru was included in the latter group. Professor Komagata was included in the former group.

"You wish, buster," she said, fixing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I regret to inform you of this, but I am quite happily in love and... what is it my mother calls it?... living in sin, yes, with my chosen partner. So, as much as I appreciate the feeling, you've got no chance, darling."

Of course, after that, half the class (that is, the boys) stopped paying attention.

"Now, who can tell me the basic functional systems in the human body?"

It was an unusual ocurrence, but barely five minutes into the lecture, Kaoru was as annoyed as was humanly possible. The sound of Komagata-sensei's boots wouldn't let her concentrate. And she couldn't even stay in one place for her student's sake... no, she had to walk around the classroom, fixing her hair behind her ear every five seconds, and swaying her hips suggestively all the way. She said she appreciated the feeling, Kaoru thought, but really, she likes the attention. She LOVES the attention... Not that Kaoru was jealous or anything...

Kaoru was seconds away from banging her head on her desk when a knock on the door of the classroom interrupted Komagata-sensei's words.

"Komagata-dono, sumimasen..." A familiar red head appeared in the doorway. "Could I please borrow Kamiya-dono for a second?"

"Certainly, Himura-san," professor Komagata said, with a complacent smile. She liked Himura-san. It was hard not to; he was so polite. "Take all the time you need."

But Kaoru had flown out of the classroom the second her name was mentioned. She didn't even hear Komagata-sensei's answer, she was not about to lose any more time in there; the environment in that classroom felt much more like a brothel than that of an academic institution. She didn't care why Kenshin had come looking for her... she just wanted out.

As Kenshin closed the door behind him, she sighed, relieved. "Thank Kami-sama. I couldn't stand being there for one more minute. Thanks for saving me, Kenshin."

"Oro? Is the class too hard, Kaoru-dono?" he asked, with his usual courtesy. Kaoru had to smile.

She rolled her eyes. "No. It's just that it's difficult to concentrate on functional systems with Ms. Sex Symbol prouncing around the room..." She crossed her arms. "You're part of the staff. Why in the world did Hiko-san hire her? Wouldn't a person like her cause problems with the students? I thought teachers had to be all prim and proper."

Kenshin nodded, resembling every bit a wise man. "Hai. Komagata-dono can be a little... overwhelming, de gozaru." He frowned, and at the same time blushed a little.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow. She felt something bubbling up inside her, but she didn't want to recognize it. "What? You too? I can't believe this..." she grumbled. But this reaction, it made her dislike her biology professor even more than she had before. Her hand clenched in a fist and started shaking. But she WASN'T jealous! Contrary to what Misao loved to rant on and on about, she didn't have a thing for Kenshin. She'd only known him for a week. Sure, they'd become friends quickly but a week wasn't enough to begin to have... feelings... for a person. It just wasn't.

She wasn't jealous.

"Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, trying to move their conversation away from Komagata-sensei. More like, get Kenshin's mind away from Komagata-sensei's... attributes.

"Ah, sessha's not really sure. Misao-dono came into sessha's office a few minutes ago, said she had a free period and needed to speak with us urgently. It must be something important," he explained, smiling lightly.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. Poor, naive Kenshin. He clearly didn't know Misao like she did.

And her suspicions were confirmed when they entered the Counseling Office and found Misao sitting in Kenshin's reclinable chair, feet propped up on the desk, and reading what seemed to be shoujo manga. She seemed to be going through a really romantic part, because not two seconds later she squealed, and hugged the magazine to her chest, sighing with starry eyes.

"Oh, that is sooooo romantic! I wish it could happen to m..." she cut herself short when she saw Kenshin and Kaoru standing in the doorway. Kenshin, in what she recognized was his "oro x" expression, and Kaoru with one eyebrow delicately arched in an incredulous fashion. "...Madame Curie! Oh, yes, wonderful story about how she and her husband made some of the most amazing discoveries in science. Yep, very educational article!" she laughed nervously, and hurried to put the "educational magazine" inside her bag.

Kenshin seemed to believe her, at least enough not to babble to any other member of the faculty how Makimachi-dono used his office as an entertainment room instead of being a responsible student and using her free period to review for her lectures. Both Kaoru and Misao knew he wouldn't have done that anyway, but he was a member of the staff afterall, so they should at least try to be subtle about his more-than-simply-professional relationship with them. Like they were subtle about their friendship with Kamatari-san whenever they were in front of Hiko-san. In fact, their relationship with Kenshin was very similar to the one they had with Kamatari-san. Only with less giggling and blackmail.

Kenshin closed the door behind him and Misao gave him back his chair, albeit a little reluctantly. "Eeto... Sessha went and got Kaoru-dono from her class, Misao-dono. What did you want to tell us?"

Misao grinned as she sat down beside Kaoru. "Well, Kaoru-chan and I were wondering what your plans for the weekend are, Himura."

Kenshin almost fell of his chair (they could hear the faint oros) and Kaoru blushed to the roots of her hair. "'Kaoru-chan and I'?" she muttered. "I think the question was more unillateral than what you made of it, Misao-chan."

"Oro Misao-dono, ah, why do you ask that?" he asked when he finally got comfortable again in his seat.

She grinned again, and Kenshin didn't like it one bit. Kaoru seemed not to notice, as she was quite happy to look everywhere except at either of them. "We wanted to know if you'd like to come with us to the movies."

Kenshin blinked, obviously not expecting that. "Well, sessha isn't sure... Is that considered correct? Sessha's a member of the staff, isn't that forbidden?"

Kaoru quickly intervened, trying to save herself from any further humilliation brought forward by Misao's obviously nefarious plan. Because she had an ulterior motive for this, oh of course she did. Makimachi Misao was the queen of sneaky plotting and planning. So she had to get out of it before it started. "Misao-chan, I don't think it's a good idea, after all, I have a lot of homew-"

"Oh, that's quite ok, Himura," Misao threw in, not even acknowledging what Kaoru had said. "In fact, we usually go out during the weekend with Genzai-sensei and his daughters, or with Jiya and my family. They won't mind if you come along with us."

"So we will be going as a group, then?" Kenshin asked, feeling that then the situation would be a bit better. He was sure that it was not correct for him to go around town with two students, even worse if they were girls. But if more people were going to be there, especially people as respectable as Genzai-sensei and Okina-san, nobody would think badly of the situation. "Then sessha thinks it would be alright, de gozaru yo. Going to the movies is always fun," he finished with a smile.

Kaoru closed her eyes and sighed. Misao was planning something and Kenshin... gullible, naive Kenshin... had fallen into it hook, line and sinker. But when she looked at his smiling profile (that was definitely NOT making her weak in the knees; nope, that was because she'd been sitting for too long. It had nothing to do with Kenshin, nope. Definitely not), she didn't know whether to be scared or to be relieved.

--

That Saturday afternoon, Kaoru and Misao were standing in line to get out of the school. They could go out of school grounds during the weekend, but as students, the rule was that they had to report where exactly they were going to be, or they wouldn't be let out. So it took them a little longer than normal to meet with the others, and Kaoru was getting a little restless.

She turned to Misao for the thirty-second time. "Are you sure you told Okina-san to look for Kenshin?"

Misao rolled her eyes for the thirty-second time. "Hai. I told him."

Kaoru didn't seem satisfied, but she kept quiet nonetheless. She bit her lip for a moment and, not one minute later, she turned to Misao again. "Does my hair look okay?"

Misao gaped at her. Kaoru was worried about her looks. Kaoru, her best friend Kaoru. Tomboy, kendo-chick, Kaoru, was worried about her looks. Was the world ending? Misao couldn't believe Kaoru had the _gall_ to deny that she had a crush on Kenshin. No, she was so obvious...

Kaoru felt a little uncomfortable with the way Misao was looking at her. "What?" she asked, flinching. But they were both saved from awkward explanations when they reached the start of the line.

They both gave their names, and said they'd be at the movie theater, and quickly exited the school. Now they only needed to walk to the nearest intersection, where the others would be waiting for them.

Genzai-sensei was a little busy, so he decided that he and his granddaughters would not be joining them to the movies that day. Their group was quite the crowd, nonetheless, as the Oniwabanshuu were as happy and lively as they came. Misao's grandfather was so loud, she often joked, that he could throw a party only for himself, and it would still be the best party ever. He quickly proved his granddaughter right by hugging her and twirling her around as soon as he saw her come down the street, as if he hadn't seen her in twelve months instead of twelve minutes. Okon, Shiro, Kuro and Omasu greeted them both warmly as well. Kenshin stood to one side and politely smiled at them. "Kaoru-dono, Misao-dono." Okina made a comment about the young man being a little too polite and they all laughed as they started walking towards the movie theater.

They had walked less than a block, when Kaoru grabbed Misao by her elbow and slowed her pace, so they ended up to the rear of the group. "I don't think this was a very good idea, Misao-chan. I mean, he's part of the staff and it's just different than with Okina-san and the Onis because they're your family and that's ok, but Kenshin's not related to you and of course he's not related to me and..."

"Kaoru-chan. You're babbling," Misao cut her off. "Listen, there's nothing wrong with this. Himura's our friend, right? Friends hang out. It's not illegal." She forced her arm out of Kaoru's grip and walked faster. They were being left behind.

Kaoru sighed. No other choice but to go with it, she guessed.

So they had gotten to the theater, paid for their tickets and popcorn and all of that, and sat down to watch the movie. Like any other weekend, right?

Two hours and twenty-seven minutes later, Kaoru was still fuming. She had known Misao was planning something, but she was thinking something along the lines of using Kenshin-- who was not only a member of the staff, but was much closer to Hiko-san than any of the others, apparently-- to be allowed more time outside, or something like that. She hadn't _really_ thought she'd make a matchmaking attempt.

She should've seen it coming, really. First, Misao wouldn't sit beside her because she preferred the aisle seat (since when?), and Okina-san had to sit beside her because they were sharing their popcorn. Okon-chan and Omasu-chan talked too much during the movie so they always sat together as not to bother anyone else (she thought that's why they'd always sat _apart_). Shiro-kun liked to steal popcorn from Omasu-chan's bowl so he had to sit beside her (but then why had he bought the extra-big popcorn bowl?), and Kuro-kun always fell asleep during movies and apparently Shiro-kun, being his roommate, was the only one who knew how to stop him from snoring, so they also had to sit together (well, it was true that he fell asleep, but she'd never heard him snore). Which meant that she and Kenshin were going to sit together in the other (conveniently dark) corner of the row.

But that wasn't all. Then, Misao and Okina ran out of popcorn really fast and they both had to go and get some more. A few minutes after that, Kuro-kun had fallen asleep and was drooling on Shiro-kun's shoulder so Shiro-kun woke him up and told him to go to the bathroom. Then Shiro-kun too had to go to the bathroom. And soon someone called Omasu-chan's cellphone and both her and Okon-chan had to leave because apparently they both needed to talk to the caller. Soon enough, the row was empty save for her and Kenshin and the others never came back.

They never. Came. BACK.

So now the sun was setting and Kenshin was walking her back to the school and was she the only one with half a brain in that group, she wondered.

"What a beautiful sunset, de gozaru," Kenshin spoke, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to look where he was looking and realized that indeed, the sky looked incredibly wonderful. It didn't make her any less mad at her best friend and her best friend's family, but it did seem somewhat comforting.

"Listen, Kenshin," she started, looking down at the ground while she spoke. She couldn't help it, she just hoped she wouldn't run into anyone or anything. "I'm very sorry they ditched us like this. I don't know what they were thinking, just up and leaving like we weren't there--"

"Daijobu, Kaoru-dono," he stopped walking and smiled at her. Kuso, now she HAD to look up at him. She couldn't help herself. "It's no problem. Sessha had a great time today."

With her, was what he didn't say, but her mind added it immediately. Kaoru felt a tug somewhere inside her; her heart probably. Stupid Kenshin had no clue that he was making things worse.

She was going to open her mouth to say something, anything, when she felt a push and she fell to the ground. Someone had crashed into her. She looked up and saw a kid with dark, spiky hair running away from them like he was being chased. She felt her anger come back full force. "Hey! Watch where you're going, baka! You didn't even say sorry!" she snapped at him while Kenshin helped her up.

"Who cares, BUSU!" the kid snapped back without even looking back at her. He just kept running.

"Are you okay, Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked her, looking at her as if to check himself.

"Hai..." Kaoru started to answer, but when she bent over to pick up her purse, she noticed that it was lighter than before. "Hey! My wallet! That brat stole my wallet!" She immediately started running in the direction the kid was going, yelling all the way.

The kid wasn't really that fast but he'd gotten quite a headstart so it was taking a while for her to reach him, not to mention the fact that she kept bumping into people and was once almost trampled by a jeep when crossing a street. Luckily she was in good physical condition, thanks to kendo. She could feel her muscles crying out from exhaustion; any other person would have fainted by then. Still, she felt her legs involuntarily slowing down. Damn it all; she knew younger people were could resist more than older people, but she never thought she'd see such a difference between 17 and 10.

Right when she'd started to lose hope, she felt someone run by her. She didn't get a good look at the person until she saw that he'd fallen in step with the thief. It was Kenshin.

Kaoru didn't even realize she had stopped. She just stared open-mouthed at the display they were giving her. The kid kept escaping from Kenshin's path messily. It wasn't surprising; he was, after all, very small and so it was easy for him to sneak out of traps. But Kenshin... he was every second in sync with what the kid was going to do. It almost seemed like he knew what the little thief was thinking of doing before he did it. So he seamlessly moved wherever the kid moved to. It was amazing. There was nothing random about his strategy, it seemed entirely planned, completely graceful in its application. And his reflexes were so fast. His speed seemed almost... god-like.

Finally he did a somersault, kicking the wall of the alley they were in front of for impulse, and landed in front of the kid, who was so awed that he forgot to escape.

"Whoa! How did you..." But he never finished his comment as Kenshin grabbed him by the neck of his shirt to keep a hold on him. "HEY! LEMME GO! LEMME GO I TELL YOU! If you don't let go this instant, I swear I'll make you pay! I don't care how many fancy circus tricks you can do, my family comes from a line of famous samurais and I--"

Kenshin smiled at him. "Please calm down, de gozaru. Just return Kaoru-dono's wallet, and then you can go."

That statement brought Kaoru back from la-la land, and she stepped up to them, now noticing she was still winded, as the kid looked wide-eyed at Kenshin. "You're not going to call the cops?"

Kaoru took a step forward, clenching her fists menacingly. "Won't be necessary when I'm through with you, you little bug..."

Kenshin sweatdropped. "Maa, maa, Kaoru-dono. There is no need for that. Sessha knows he learned the lesson." He turned to the kid. "Kaoru-dono won't call the police, but she could. That you know. The next time you might not be as lucky, so try that there is no next time."

The kid looked at Kenshin for a few moments and then, somewhat reluctantly, pulled out Kaoru's wallet and gave it back to her. Kenshin nodded at him, and let go of his shirt. The kid looked at the both of them while walking away backwards, and then turned and ran, quickly moving out of their visual range.

Kaoru turned to Kenshin while putting her wallet inside her purse again. "You really think you speaking all Barney-like is going to teach him not to steal anymore?"

Kenshin sighed. "Sessha doesn't know. But kids like that don't steal because they want to, Kaoru-dono. They steal because they need to."

Kaoru looked down the way the kid had gone away, and nodded; after all, what did she know? He was the one with a degree in psychology. Turning back, she told Kenshin that they'd better get back to the school, as it was getting dark.

--

The next day, Kaoru and Misao went out again, this time with Okina-san to get some groceries. Usually everybody in school was quite happy to eat in the cafeteria (Tae-san was the most fabulous cook in the world), but Okina-san was really attached to junk food, so they went out once in a while to buy cookies and chips.

After the little situation the day before, Misao felt a little guilty, and Kaoru thought she deserved it. Because of her lame matchmaking attempts, her wallet had almost been stolen. Okina-san, on the other hand, kept insisting that it was a minor setback and that Kaoru should have grabbed Kenshin and kissed him for being her hero.

Kaoru just gaped at him like a fish. It was quite a comical sight.

"You know, now that I think about it, you SHOULD be against this, Jiya," Misao commented to her grandfather as she picked up a package of Oreos. "He's like thirty years older than her after all."

"Age is just a number, Misao-chan!" Okina replied chirpily. Kaoru grumbled. Of course it was, after all he was like 80 and he kept on acting like a 13-year-old.

"Yeah, I mean, it's okay for me to think so, after all, I'm a teenager," Misao argued. "We're supposed to think those things. But you're old, you shouldn't be encouraging her..."

"Yeah, he's old, he shouldn't be eating these things either!" Kaoru added, moodily, waving a package of Lay's in Misao's face. Okina just laughed.

"He's only 28, Misao-chan," he argued back. "It's not like he's THAT much older. From my viewpoint, he's barely an adult. He's just so much older as to be a little more mature than the boys your own age, in fact."

Misao thought about it for a couple of minutes. "Hmmm. Maybe if you see it that way..." She turned to Kaoru. "See, Kaoru-chan? It's not so bad..." she suddenly stopped speaking, and her eyes got wide as she saw something behind her two companions. "Well, speak of the devil..."

Kaoru and Okina turned around to see a familiar redhead walking down the flu remedies aisle. "Oi, Himura!" she called him.

Kenshin turned, blinking a little. Then he recognized who was calling him and so he smiled, walking over to them. "Konnichiwa Misao-dono, Kaoru-dono, Okina-san."

"Konnichiwa, Himura-san," Okina replied. "Out buying groceries?" He winked at Kaoru in a not-so-subtle way, as if telling her "See? Fate!".

"Hai, de gozaru," Kenshin replied politely, not noticing the older man's wink or just ignoring it, perhaps. "And some flu medicine, as well. Sessha seems to be coming down with something."

"Aa," Okina's smile suddenly became very mischievous. "It's a pity you don't have a young girlfriend to play nurse to you, isn't it?"

Kenshin blushed at the comment. Kaoru blushed at the comment. Heck, even MISAO blushed at the comment. Her grandfather was just way too much sometimes... "Eeto, Okina-san..." Kenshin wheezed, apparently having run out of breath.

But before Kenshin could finish murmuring whatever he was trying to say, a small figure ran up to them and pushed his way through their little group. "Outta my way, busu!" he yelled, elbowing Kaoru to one side as he ran through.

Now, that seemed entirely too familiar to her. When she finally found her balance, she turned to look at a spiky-haired head that she'd wished never to see again. She gasped. "That's the brat who stole my wallet yesterday!"

Misao and Okina started checking that everything they'd bought was in their car, when two tall, burly guys came running in, apparently chasing that kid. They pushed all of them out of the way too, a little more forcefully of course, and continued on making huge amounts of noise as they crashed into stacks of cans and arrays of boxes. Both the two teens and the redhead stared intently at a shiny object that was kept inside the last man's back pocket. Not a minute later, a stringy, pale and sweaty guy with glasses, who had to be the manager, came in running behind them, telling them to get out of his store "ipsofacto!". Okina commented on how the little guy was something of a nerd, but the other three just stared openmouthed at the rally they had just witnessed.

"I wonder what that kid stole now, seems like he's in a whole load of trouble," Misao commented as she moved to pick up some of the cans that had fallen to the floor.

Kaoru didn't answer, just turned towards the School Counselor. "Kenshin," she gasped, wide-eyed. "That man had a..."

"Knife. Yes, he did," Kenshin finished for her. His eyes took on a slightly golden hue as he looked down the aisle the four people had dissapeared through.

"They're going to kill him! We've got to help him!" she exclaimed, worried.

"I don't think we should interfere, Kaoru-chan," Misao said from below. "I'm pretty sure the manager must've already called the cops, so everything should be fixed in a moment."

But she knew it was useless. When her best friend got that determined glint in her eye, resistance was futile. Luckily for her, she was too far away for Kaoru to grab her, so she was spared. Instead, Kaoru latched on to Kenshin's arm and dragged him off to save the day. To be truthful, she was a little worried this time. After all, they were going after two guys who were probably armed. She hoped they'd be okay. But her worry didn't stop her from gleefully noticing that Kenshin didn't put up much resistance to her friend's enthusiasm.

--

It didn't take them long to find the runaways, as the two guys finally cornered the kid and dragged him into a darkened alley beside a rather seedy bar. Kenshin actually had to stop Kaoru from barging right in; it wasn't a good idea to startle them when they had a knife pointing at the kid's throat.

Kaoru looked at the scene with her heart in her throat. It all seemed like right out of an action movie. This was really dangerous. Not to mention that if anyone informed Hiko-san that she'd been so far from the place where she said she'd be that morning, HE would get dangerous, too.

The child was whimpering as the tallest one out of the two guys pinned him to the wall with one hand, while holding the knife with the other hand. "Please... Please don't hurt me, I won't do it again, please..."

"Shut up, you stupid brat," the other guy spat back at him, his eyes blazing. "You didn't think we'd let you just get away like that, did ya?"

It was then that Kenshin put a hand on Kaoru's shoulder, lightly pushing her behind him, and she understood he was going to intervene.

"Gentlemen," he started, taking a small step forward. Nothing too intimidating, just stepping closer so they'd hear him better. Both men turned to look at him, but only the one who was not holding the kid moved. "Sessha assures you..."

"Get outta here, carrot-top. This ain't ya business," the shorter one hissed, pointing another knife, a smaller one, at him.

"...Whatever that kid stole from you, it does not merit the use of violence to get it back," Kenshin finished, never missing a beat.

"I didn't steal anything from th--" the kid started to say but the man pressed him harder by the neck of his shirt, effectively cutting off his air.

"Ya don't get it, moron," the shorter one continued speaking. "This kid belongs to us and that's it. Now get the hell away from here, or I'll be forced to kill ya to keep ya quiet."

They heard the kid start to choke, his face was turning purple. Kaoru focused all her attention on him, her heart in her throat. The tall guy hit him against the wall to shut him up; and the boy's head slumped to the front, unconscious. She couldn't really figure out what happened next... only that Kenshin's eyes turned that haunting golden color again and all of a sudden the tallest of the two goons was laying on the floor, clutching his neck in pain, the knife was stuck to the wall of the bar and Kenshin was standing beside the fainted kid, about to pick him up in his arms. The racket was still echoing in her ears as she tried to process the scene.

She had no time to think about the other guy, though. When she heard Kenshin's "Kaoru-dono!" she noticed that the short fellow was running towards her, pale and wide-eyed. He didn't seem to be trying to attack her; it was most likely that he was as confused as she was with how suddenly things had gone to the other side of the spectrum, and so he was running to save himself. She reacted instinctively, nevertheless, and using the guy's weight against him, she sent him down to the floor with a judo defensive move.

Seeing that the man wasn't going anywhere for a while, she brought out her cellphone and called the cops. It wasn't her idea of fun to be a witness for the second time in just as many weeks.

--

Kaoru bit her lip as she waited outside the Principal's office. She didn't know what was going on. Something like fifteen minutes ago, Yahiko (the little thief, yes, that was his name) had stormed out with a raincloud over his head, followed by an overly-enthusiastic Kamatari-san, and the doors had closed again without letting her learn any information. She was getting anxious; Kenshin and Hiko-san were inside discussing the boy's fate, and she really wanted to know what was going to happen to him.

It had been four days since they had rescued the kid. The two guys who held him enslaved were apprehended and were probably going to rot in jail for a long time. Yahiko had been brought to be under Genzai-sensei's care, and only today he had been declared fit to go back to his business. They'd been waiting for the official word from the Government as to what to do with him. Kaoru didn't know much about law, which was what made her worry. Yahiko and her rubbed each other the wrong way (he'd only been out and about for half a day and already shouting matches that would go down in history had sprang up), but she was still very worried about him. He was just a kid; he shouldn't have to be in the middle of such a mess.

She didn't have to wait long, though; a couple of minutes later the door opened and Kenshin came through, a tired smile on his face.

"Well?"

Kenshin had to smile at her enthusiasm. "Yahiko-san is under the care of the State, at the moment, since he is an orphan. However, and by Sessha's request, they have agreed that studying at Samuikamen School would be a very positive course of action for him."

Kaoru clasped her hands in front of her. "So he's staying?"

Kenshin smiled at her and nodded. "Hai, he will join the group of special students next week. But Shishou has his doubts. He thinks Yahiko-san has an attitude problem," he frowned at this. He did see that Yahiko-san was something of a rebel, but he didn't think he was a bad kid, he just had to work out his issues.

Kaoru rolled her eyes as they started to walk down to the dorm rooms. "Well yeah, he IS a brat. I understand why he is, but it doesn't make it any better."

"Sessha suggested that perhaps an extracurricular activity might help give him discipline," he added.

Kaoru took a look at him, and found it funny; he seemed to be making a point of looking everywhere but at her. "That's a great idea, Kenshin! So, what is he going to do? Chess club? To develop his mind or something. Or swimming might be good. Maybe a more traditional sport like soccer..."

"He... errrr... he did say he was interested in becoming stronger, de gozaru," Kenshin continued, rather vaguely if Kaoru had to put a name to his tone. "To defend himself, so he will not be a victim again."

"Yes, that's understandable," Kaoru said, raising her hand to her chin in concentration. "That means... wait," her steps slowed down as they came close to the door of the dormitories' building. Her face started darkening and Kenshin, who clearly was more aware of her than he made it seem like, carefully started backing up. "The only club in this school that teaches anything along the lines of self-defense... is the kendo club."

Kenshin started to sweat like crazy. "Hai-- well-- Kaoru-dono-- Sessha is the supervisor, after all-- it was the only choice..."

Not even god-like speed would save him of this one, though, for with a heavy "PLONK!", Kaoru's fist connected with his head (so what if he was eleven years her senior and a member of the staff? Baka Kenshin!) and by that point he was wondering if the little birdies that were flying around his head would be interested in joining the kendo club, too.

Kaoru didn't even bother to look back to see if he was alive. She just entered the building, muttering darkly about stubborn brats and stupid redheads who wouldn't even ASK for her opinion before shoving said brats in her face. Kenshin's "ororooos" never reached her ears.

* * *

**author's notes!--**

yeah, i know it's been like ten thousand years since i updated this. no need to remind me. i've got an excuse, though! it's not a very good one, of course ;-) but it's an excuse: i just suck at writing action scenes. i had three-quarters of this chapter already written two days after i published the first chapter; but the scene where they rescue yahiko proved to be hell to write up until today. as you can see, i gave up the action and went for the always trusty "she couldn't really figure out what happened next..." tactic. lol XD don't kill me for that, please. i'm just a slow writer, i can't help it... XS

i'm flattered, though. it's been years and i'm still getting reviews, as late as yesterday, for example. thank you all :)

but well, here's the second chapter. i'm sure by now you have something of an idea of how i'm working this out, how i'm going to introduce the rest of the cast and stuff. more characters definitely coming up next chapter!

super sheba guessed right, it was yumi! not saying anything on the other one, though. you'll see him soon enough and then you'll get your cameos :D

some replies to the reviews, now...

jen: glad you liked the size of the chapter. i don't usually put myself a specific size when i start writing, but i'll try my best to make them all medium-longish.

chris: sano WILL be in the fic, of course, just gotta wait a little. i wouldn't be much of a RK fan if i didn't put in my favorite character ever ;-)

**and thank you all for reading and reviewing!** i'm glad you're liking the fic so far. i'll see you next chapter (which will hopefully be out before the the decade ends, lol).


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